Welcome to Big Sky Chat House—a newsletter of candid conversations with Montanans of all political stripes, and some arts & culture reporting, too.
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As many fellow dog owners can attest, my own pup can, on occasion, drive me insane.
Cece has chased critters off-trail and gotten herself lost for hours, gorged on deer limbs and decomposing voles, developed a fastidious sniffing routine that can turn a quick spin around the block into a Homerian odyssey, and found thousands of other inventive ways to test the limits of my patience. Of course, I love Cece with all my heart. But that adoration can fall by the wayside when she appears intent on winning the Guinness Award for Biggest Four-Legged Dumbass.
On “Great Love, Great Grief,” Kraig Rieger, of the long-running Bozeman duo Come Back K!, reminds us to treasure our time with our pets, even when they’re misbehaving. The song—a languid Beatles-y waltz, complete with an elegant McCartney bass line—celebrates the eleven years he spent with his dog, Roo, and addresses the overwhelming grief he feels in their absence. The song is the lead single from a forthcoming EP called “Goodbye, Friend,” that Rieger will release next week via Bandcamp.
On “Great Love, Great Grief,” Rieger doesn’t merely reflect on the sunny times, but the frustrating ones, too. “Early on I thought about turning you in / But I’m glad I didn’t,” he admits in the first verse. There’s even some wry humor about his surviving dog: “It doesn’t feel fair that our other dog gets all the food.”
Rieger’s honesty makes his grief all the more poignant when it appears later in the song. “Why did this happen / At the onset of winter everything feels so dark / You’re a light in the distance / Something that kept me moving on,” he sings in a stately, even tone.
And sure, like so many other pups, Roo “misbehaved until the end.” But, as Rieger adds, “I regret nothing.” We can relate.
One other thing (or two)…
I was thrilled to write a bit about Free Sessions, the long-running and uber-egalitarian monthly Missoula jam session, for The Pulp. I can’t recommend attending enough.
Over at Political Climate, the bi-partisan energy and climate policy podcast that I produce, we recently interviewed Anukool Lakhina, the CEO of BurnBot. The company builds tank-sized robots that can perform prescribed burns around the clock, independent of weather conditions. The conversation, which touches on both his tech and fire mitigation policy, carries extra weight in light of the catastrophic fires that have plagued Los Angeles this month. You can listen to the interview here.